Merall (Page of the Month Archive)
This is the archived version of the article for the character. Click here for the updated version. Merall was a female Toa of Stone and a member of the Farside Toa, in the Remains Alternate Universe. History Early life Similarly to most other Toa of Stone, Merall began her life on Spherus Magna as a Po-Matoran, where she aided in the construction of the Matoran Universe. Surprisingly for a Po-Matoran, however, she was created as a female. This odd occurrence was a result of the Great Beings desiring to experiment with the genders of the Matoran species, mismatching a number of Matoran from their elements. However, the genders were eventually finalized and, as such, Merall was one of the few female Po-Matoran to have been created. During this period of her life, Merall developed a fighter's spirit and frequently sought out conflict with wandering animals, which threatened the Matoran workers. She would later be placed within the Matoran Universe in the Southern Island Chains, along with a small population of other female Po-Matoran. Southern Island Chains After several years of living in the volcanic, inhospitable climate of the Southern Matoran Universe, Merall became hardened by her barbarous lifestyle. She began to train her body intensely, acquiring a considerable level of combat efficiency in addition to her own natural strength. Upon reaching peak physical condition by Matoran standards, she embarked on a quest to destroy a Nui Rama hive that had developed near to her local settlement. Eager to prove her superior endurance and agility, Merall charged into the nest headstrong, wielding a metal spear. Alone and overpowered, the female Po-Matoran was swiftly incapacitated by the Rahi. She only narrowly escaped death when an Onu-Matoran named Chaeus followed her into the hive, leading a pack of Ussal Crabs, Fusa and Mahi to fend off the Nui Rama. The Matoran of Earth was able to drag Merall out of the hive after setting it on fire, though her Kanohi received heavy damage and was completely cracked. When she was returned to her village, Merall was forced to replace her original Mask of Conjuring with a Kanohi Hau, which was the only Mask available to her at the time. The female Matoran then thanked Chaeus for teaching her a lesson in tactical approach towards a situation. League of Six Kingdoms Over the next few centuries, the two Matoran became distant from each other due to Chaeus' more scholarly interests opposing Merall's blunt, physical nature. However, the two Matoran were drawn together once again by a Ko-Matoran named Brorag, who traveled to their settlement and requested their assistance in an expedition to the central belt of the Matoran Universe, warning the locals of Barraki Carapar's expanding dominion and the League of the Six Kingdoms. Merall and Chaeus volunteered to travel with him, though Merall had the intention of fighting against Carapar's army. The three Matoran journeyed north on a small, motorized boat belonging to Brorag, searching for the island of Artahka, where Chaeus and Brorag hoped to find safety. It was not until a navigational error, which caused Merall to be thrown overboard, that the Po-Matoran took up a decisive role as the group's leader. Fortunately, the combined forces of the Brotherhood of Makuta and the Toa put an end to the Barraki threat, allowing Merall and her allies to land in the Southern Continent, along the eastern border. Although the exact circumstances of her transformation into a Toa remain unclear, it is known that Merall became acquainted with Theran, Dorvan and Range in this settlement, all three of whom would later serve in her Toa Team. ''Uprising'' After many years spent training herself to reach an even more precise physical condition as a Toa of Stone, Merall and her team found themselves at a field near the Farside Village on Balfe Nui. However, due to reasons currently unknown, none of the Toa had any memory of their previous adventures, though they were aware of each other. In order to grow accustomed to their surroundings, Theran - the team's leader - suggested that they split up into three teams to find inhabitants of that place who might know what happened. Accordingly, Merall was paired with Dorvan. Merall and Dorvan were paired together and followed an old road, where they met a rising gradient in the land. After a considerable length of time, the Toa stopped at a way-station that have been carved into the cliff edge. However, upon entering, they found evidence of a fight, accompanied by a pool of blood. Surmising that a Turaga had been killed earlier that morning, Merall and Dorvan set out in search of the murderer, hoping to apprehend him by nightfall. Continuing down the path, the two Toa came across a scrap of cloth, which had once been stitched onto a Turaga of Earth's robe. Progressing onwards, they eventually heard a nearby scream and happened upon their missing Turaga, who had become infected with a strange black growth on his chest. Merall swiftly flung one of her axes at the Undead Turaga, striking him between the eyes and rendering his corpse incapable of reanimation. It then became clear that the Turaga had tracked down and attacked a Le-Matoran, who lay dying on the ground. Despite Dorvan's pleas for him to reveal his name, the Matoran refused to disclose his identity, believing that it would discredit the Toa for avenging him. He did, however, reveal that the Turaga had been a Forgotten Warrior, a reanimated corpse which carried an organic virus capable of mutating a target into a zombie-like state. Before he lapsed into death himself, the Matoran also passed on a considerable amount of information about Nuva - the Lord of the Undead. Unfortunately, the Toa were later ambushed by another Undead attacker, who forced Dorvan off a cliff edge. Acting on instinct, Merall threw herself off the edge and pulled her teammate towards the safety of a fast-flowing lake, ultimately saving his life. She then activated her Kaukau Nuva for them to survive underwater, until she was able to bring them safely assure. Leaving one of her axes with Dorvan on a small inland beach, Merall then returned to the water in order to fetch their other Toa Tools, which had been dislodged and rested at the bottom of the lake. However, Dorvan was swiftly ambushed by another group of Forgotten Warriors in her absence. He was apprehended then taken prisoner by Toa Caliga, a recently-infected Toa of Lightning at the helm of the group. Convinced that Nuva had special plans for the Farside Toa, she began to trek back to Nuva's fortress, only to be given a different set of orders by an infected Po-Matoran messenger, instructing her to lead a siege on the Farside Village. Merall watched this exchange from the depths of the water then resolved that she would have to win Dorvan back. She skulked behind the group for some distance until she came across a well-surfaced road. Convinced that it led to somewhere worthwhile, she followed it north, eventually finding herself at the village in question, just before the arrival of Toa Caliga's Undead Warriors. The Toa of Stone then held back and prepared to ambush the group from behind, When they finally arrived in the woods, Merall witnessed Caliga delivering an electric shock to Dorvan, which rendered him unconscious. Simultaneously, she began tearing through the ranks of Forgotten Warriors, critically damaging two before finally engaging the undead Toa of Lightning in battle. After a somewhat lengthy and balanced battle, it dawned on Merall that she was too evenly-matched with her opponent. Even after managing to break her neck and damaging one of her Voltage Gauntlets, she was unable to overwhelm her enemy. Fortunately, Brorag appeared on the scene in the final moments of the conflict and delivered a solid kick to Caliga's Kanohi, which sent her reeling back and caused her to crack her head open against a rock, vegetating her. Merall was then able to team up with Brorag to overwhelm the aggressors and escape with Dorvan's unconscious body. After the night had set, the trio of Toa found safety atop a tree, where they witnessed a number of other villages being razed by Forgotten Warriors. Fearful for the lives of Theran and Range, the Toa accepted that their teammates must have perished along with Chaeus, who had also been killed. The following morning, the Toa fell in line under Merall's leadership and tracked down Nuva, the commander of the Forgotten Warriors, ordering his minions around outside his fortress. They followed the stranger silently until he arrived at a giant gate. However, Nuva vanished through the entrance and the three Toa were left outside. Later, Range and Theran reappeared, revealing that they had encountered Chaeus' corpse. Merall then followed the others up to Nuva's headquarters, where they encountered a number of Undead Warriors. Although they kept their distance, the brash actions of Vorred revealed their presence to Nuva and his minions. Thus, Merall was forced to engage the Undead Warriors, one of which badly injured Jacobi, one of their Matoran allies. She was able to swiftly murder her attacker by cutting her opponent's skull with her axe. However, the Toa were unable to prevent the activation of a Protosteel-Worm, a mechanical worm-like android designed to hunt and kill enemies of Nuva. The Toa were forced to flee from their new attacker, but were picked off and impaled by its Protosteel talons one by one. Merall was amongst the Toa who were killed in such a manner. Fortunately, her death, along with the killings of Range, Theran and Brorag were short-lived due to Xafri's sacrifice. The female Toa used the Kanohi Tilira to manipulate the elemental life energy in surrounding area, taking the spiritual forces of herself, Dorvan and Snipe to resurrect Merall and her team. Thus, the Toa of Stone was revived. Shortly after this, Toa Solunus led the Patriots, a group of elite Toa dedicated to defeating Nuva, to the Farside Village, where they came across the aftermath of the battle. Merall, Range, Theran and Brorag were amongst the surviving residents of the settlement and all agreed to join the Patriots in order to combat Nuva. ''Patriots Some time after the bolstering of their ranks, the Patriots held a tactical meeting at their base of operations, which Merall attended. Merall and her team later embarked on a mission with Toa Andron and Toa Pirai to locate Toa Gesikk, a potential ally to their cause who was willing to join them in their battle against Nuva. However, after locating the mysterious Toa, it soon became obvious that they were in a hostile territory and the group was swiftly ambushed by three advanced Undead soldiers. As Gesikk was injured during the conflict and the Toa were stunned by the Undead Warriors' ability to speak, Andron was captured and knocked unconscious. During the battle, Merall was known to have killed her second Forgotten Warrior. Fearing that his team would be overpowered by their enemies, Theran ordered a tactical retreat, leaving Andron in the hands of the Undead. Thus, Merall was forced to flee. The Toa then returned to their campsite and reported their findings as well as the loss of Andron. However, the group was ambushed by another group of Forgotten Warriors. After a brief skirmish, which caught the Patriots off-guard, Merall managed to finish off one of the more threatening Forgotten Warriors, aiding significantly in the battle's outcome. Despite the fact that the location of their base had been compromised, Solunus dispatched the Farside Toa off on another rescue mission, this time to the site of small village, which had been overrun with Forgotten Warriors. Upon arriving in the destroyed settlement, Merall remarked that the local Matoran had been brutally murdered. Shortly after the group split up to scope out the settlement, Brorag discovered two survivors nestled at the bottom of a cliff, a Matoran named Glonor and a female Toa of Fire named Khyae. Glonor explained to the Toa he had saved the Toa of Fire and that they were the sole survivors of the attack. However, he then revealed that he had been suffered a considerable deal of pain and feared that he had contracted the infection that spread the Undead curse. Not wanting to risk bringing an infected Matoran back with him, Theran then impaled Glonor on his spear and left him to bleed to death. This barbaric action shocked his teammates and caused Kyhae to lash out at him. Merall verbally challenged Theran, though she was cut short when he walked away, leaving his teammates to comfort the female Toa of Fire. However, it soon became apparent that Theran and Range had encountered a Forgotten Warrior while Merall and Brorag were climbing back up from the bottom of the cliff with Kyhae. As Range was unconscious, Merall assumed leadership and helped carry the Toa of Water back to their camp site. In spite of Theran's disappearance, Merall, Brorag and a number of other warriors were assembled into a Patriots Taskforce and, together, they were sent off on another mission. This time, Merall was able to split the group up and paired herself with Brorag in order to discuss Theran's recent change in attitude with her teammate. While she no longer felt that the Toa of Fire deserved to be her leader, Brorag tried to convince her that Theran was worthy of their respect. The discussion was interrupted when the Toa of Ice stepped on a Kanohi Rode and the pair of Toa realized that they had stumbled across a burial ground. After scoping the remains out, Merall summoned the others and reported that they had found the body of a large titan, who they assumed to have been a Great Being. Unfortunately, an argument broke out over how the Patriots should treat the remains. Pirai argued that the Great Being's corpse should be left intact while Merall claimed that the blaster-like weapon carried by the deceased could be put to better use. After a heated debate, Pirai resorted to slapping Merall, silencing the group and embarrassing the Toa of Stone. However, enraged by this most controversial of actions, Merall raised her weapons against Pirai, though she was restrained by Brorag, who warned her about using lethal force. Despite the Toa of Ice's struggle to keep balance, a fight soon broke out amongst the expedition group. After overwhelming Pirai, Merall used her shield to deflect a spear throw by Falecía at Gesikk, thereby winning the battle and taking the blaster. Fired up from the skirmish and having emerged as the victory, Merall forbid the defeated Patriots from returning to their headquarters and left them at the burial site. When upon returning to the headquarters with half of her original taskforce, Merall was forced to explain the disloyalty of the others to Solunus. She subsequently witnessed Tilira's rallying of the Patriots. The mysterious female Toa then spontaneously proposed that the Patriots should launch an offensive on Nuva's forces. Merall would later accompany her allies in this campaign. After a considerably lengthy hike, however, the Toa of Stone requested that the group took a break, having experienced constant action in the previous few hours. Although irritated by this, Tilira agreed and the Patriots sent Kyhae and Vastara out to scout ahead. Having rested for long enough and eager to dispel her fighting spirit, Merall swiftly regained her energy and spearheaded the movement to once again join the scouts. The Patriots swiftly discovered that Kyhae and Vastara had been reunited with Solace and Viretha - the splinter faction of the Patriots - only to be ambushed by the full brunt of Nuva's forces. Eager to get in on the conflict, Merall managed to disarm a particularly menacing Forgotten Warrior, slicing off his remaining hand. She then fought alongside Pirai briefly. However, when the Toa of Iron was overwhelmed she refused to come to his aid, still bitter over their conflict. She instead resolved to let her former comrade be overwhelmed and killed. During this battle, Merall was known to have added at least one more Forgotten Warrior to her killcount. Ultimately, the battle ended when Nuva launched a Great Kanoka Disk at Tilira, causing a massive, lethal shockwave of energy to ripple out and disrupt the battle. Merall was knocked unconscious by the blast and came to in Theran's arms. Angered by the dirty move on Nuva's part, Merall returned to her feet only to realize that Brorag was not amongst their number. To their horror, the Farside Toa discovered that their other teammate had in fact been fatally wounded by the shockwave. In his dying words, he complimented his fellow Toa, acknowledging Merall as a true warrior and expressing his gratitude for serving alongside them. Abilities and Traits Similarly to all other Po-Matoran, Merall would have possessed a minuscule degree of control over the Element of Stone, though she could not access Elemental Powers or utilize a Great Kanohi. Additionally, she was considerably stronger than most other types of Matoran and adopted a physical, blunt approach to problems. Upon becoming a Toa she was able to create, absorb and manipulate Stone. Additionally, she was granted the ability to use her Kanohi Nuva. Mask and Tools Merall wore a Kaukau Nuva, a Great Mask of Water Breathing. This Kanohi enabled her to breathe underwater for an extended period of time. This ability could also be extended to others. Furthermore, Merall could use her Kanohi to suffocate a target on try land at will. Originally, she wielded two Twin Axes, which she used to channel her elemental powers. Additionally, they could be attached to her feet to distribute her weight more evenly over unstable surfaces, such as sand or ice. However, she lost one of these weapons when she was chased by the Protosteel-Worm. Recently, her remaining Axe was reconstructed and she was given a short shield. Quotes Trivia *To date, Merall has killed a total of nine Undead Warriors, which is the largest total for any single character in both the Uprising and the Patriots saga. Appearances *''Lost'' - First appearance *''Uprising, Prolog: Awakening'' *''Night of the Long Knives'' *''Uprising, Chapter 3: Formation'' *''Uprising, Chapter 5: Discovery'' *''Uprising, Chapter 6: Destiny'' *''Patriots, Chapter 1: Gathering'' *''Patriots, Chapter 2: Swampland'' *''Patriots, Chapter 4: Solitude'' *''Patriots, Chapter 5: Renegade'' *''Patriots, Chapter 6: Resurrection'' *''Patriots, Chapter 7: Battlefield'' *''Patriots, Chapter 8: Disunion'' *''Patriots, Chapter 9: Encounter'' *''Patriots, Chapter 10: Obliteration'' *''Patriots: Chapter 11'' *''Patriots: Epilogue'' *''Elegy, Chapter 1: Journey'' *''Elegy, Chapter 2: Prophecy'' *''Elegy, Chapter 3: Yesteryear'' *''Elegy, Chapter 4: Epiphany'' *''Elegy, Chapter 5: Fragmentation'' *''Elegy, Chapter 6: Mastery'' *''Elegy, Chapter 8: Siege'' *''Elegy, Chapter 9: Alliances'' *''Elegy, Chapter 10: Chronicler'' *''Elegy, Chapter 11: Shattering'' *''Elegy, Chapter 12: Revelation'' *''Elegy, Chapter 13: Acquisition'' *''Elegy, Chapter 14: Salvation'' - Background *''Elegy, Chapter 15: Hero'' *''Elegy, Epilog: Recreation'' - Final Appearance Non-Canon Appearances *''Rumbling Hearts'' Category:Toa Nuva Category:Po-Matoran Category:Matoran Category:Toa of Stone Category:Toa Category:Stone